As Helios propelled himself through the air, heart pounding with adrenaline, he raced toward the crumbling remnants of Ented Dominion. The shadowy figure, realizing its opportunity slipping aursued him with relentless determination.
The ruins of the once-grand kingdom stretched before Helios as he leaped from one deg structure to another, each step driven by the primal o survive. Behind him, the figure’s dark presened, its i clear: it would kill him if he faltered.
Paniawed at the edges of Helios’s mind, but amidst the fear, a sihought flickered: Riku’s teique. Dark Firaga. He had seen it in his memories—a bst of dark fire, harnessed from the darkness within. He had to try.
Helios focused, his hand trembling as he attempted to summon the dark energy. He could feel it bubbling within him, a chaotic force eager to be unleashed. A tiny orb of fiery darkness began to form above his palm, flickering weakly at first. As the figure drew closer, Helios seized his ce, hurling the Dark Firaga directly at his pursuer.
The dark fire exploded on impact, engulfing the figure in a cloud of bck fmes. The explosion reverberated through the deg streets, the shockwave sending the figure staggering back. For the first time, Helios saw a cra its cold, indifferent facade—a flicker of surprise.
Without hesitation, Helios pressed his advantage. His muscles ached, but he pushed through the pain, leaping toward the figure with newfound fidehe darkness, which had once felt untrolble, was now beginning to bend to his will. The power of the Dark Firaga had shown him that he could fight back.
The figure, rec quickly, retaliated with a volley of dark projectiles. But Helios was ready. He summoned his shield of darkness, raising it just in time to deflect the onsught. Each impact shook him, but he stood his ground, maneuvering through the chaos with precision.
“You're improving, Helios,” the figure hissed, though its voice remained as cold as ever. It unleashed another barrage of attacks, dark energy crag through the air.
Helios moved with agility, evading the attacks and tering with his own bursts of dark fire. Each step he took, each spell he cast, felt more trolled, more precise. His fidence grew with every movement, and he could feel the darkness within him responding to his determination. He was learning to ba—to wield it without losing himself.
The battle raged through the deg streets, their powers g violently as the world around them tio fall apart. Helios’s attacks grew stronger, his trol over the dark firaga sharpening with each strike. He felt the rhythm of the fight, the pulse of the darkness c through his veins.
Then, with a surge of power, Helios unched a devastating ball of dark energy at the figure. The explosion rocked the area, shattering nearby windows as shards of gss rained down. Dust and debris filled the air, and for a moment, there was silence.
Panting, Helios colpsed to the ground, struggling to catch his breath. He stared at the spot where the figure had been, hoping—just for a sed—that he had finally won.
A voice, cold and indifferent, cut through the silence. "Good enough. You don’t have to die now."
Helios’s heart sank as he looked up to see the figure h behind him, pletely unscathed. It had survived the powerful attack without so much as a scratch.
“What do you want from me?” Helios demanded, his voice trembling with a mixture of anger and exhaustion. “First, you try to kill me, and now you say ‘good job’? What’s yoal?”
The figure floated closer, its dark energy swirling zily. "I simply want you to reach your full potential, Helios. To tap into the darkness within you. This was merely a test. I o push you to your limits, to see if you were worth keeping alive."
Helios gred at the figure, frustration boilih his skin. "You could have taught me. You could have guided me! Instead, you tried to kill me, pushed me like some tool. How you expect me to trust you after that?"
The figure’s voice remained calm, devoid of aion. "Didn’t you once say that extreme measures are sometimes necessary? That’s exactly what I did. I pushed you beyond your limits. And you survived. Now, you are strohan before." The figure paused, its eyes glowing faintly. "We’re still friends, aren’t we?"
“Friends?” Helios spat, his frustration bubbling over. “Do you really think I’ll go anywhere with you after you tried to kill me? How am I supposed to trust you?"
The figure floated closer, unfazed. "Trust has nothing to do with empathy or feelings. You trust me because I have never lied to you. I told you I would kill you if you disappointed me. And I told you I would let you live if you proved your worth. Did I not keep my word?"
Helios’s anger fred, but he couldn’t deny the truth in the figure’s words. The figure had never lied. But the ess in its logic—its plete indiffereo his life—made Helios’s skin crawl.
"Trust isn’t just about keeping promises," Helios shot back, his voice filled with defiance. "It’s about showing you care about the other person. You tried to kill me, and now you expect me to just move on?"
The figure's gaze remaieady, unblinking. "Whether you realize it or not, Helios, you already trust me. You trusted my words when I said I would kill you. And now, you trust me when I say you are safe. Trust is not about emotions. It is about uandiy."
Helios stared at the figure, his fists ched. He waue, to reject its twisted view of trust, but a part of him khat the figure was right—at least, in its oed way.
"I’ll proceed cautiously," Helios said, his voice steely. "But if you wao follow you, you’ll o prove that you’re really on my side. I won’t let my guard down."
The figure’s energy flickered briefly. "There is o prove anything. You will be safe with me as long as you meet my expectations. If you fall shain, then yes—your life will be in danger. But for now, I am satisfied."
Helios felt his frustration growing. The figure’s plete pathy made it impossible to fully trust, but he had little choice. If he wao survive and leave this pce, he o keep pying along—for now.
"As speak louder than words," Helios muttered. "If you’re truly on my side, show me."
Without a word, the figure extes hand, and from its palm, a tendril of dark energy began to form. Slowly, it coiled and twisted, eventually solidifying into a small, glowing orb that pulsed with faint warmth.
"This is a fragment of my power," the figure expined. "Take it. With this, you will be able to tap deeper into the darkness. Use it until we leave this realm."
Helios hesitated, staring at the orb in the figure’s hand. Relutly, he reached out and accepted the gift. The moment the orb touched his skin, a surge of energy flowed through him. He could feel the figure’s power iwining with his olifying the darkness within him.
"As do carry weight," Helios admitted, his voice quieter now. "But I will remain cautious. We may have the same goal, but trust... trust is earhrough more than just promises. It’s earhrough sistend care."
The figure said nothing, its gaze fixed on Helios as the dark orb was absorbed.
"Let’s move on," Helios said, his resolve hardened. He would tinue forward, but he would never let his guard down again.
The darkness was his to trol, but he khat the figure walking beside him was as dangerous as any enemy he had ever faced.